This invention relates generally to electrically powered postage stamps and mailing labels which operate to transmit radio frequency (RF) identification signals to an interrogator either at the point of shipment origin, in transit, or upon reaching a point of destination. More particularly, this invention relates to such stamps and labels having an integrated circuit therein powered by a thin flat battery cell.
In my co-pending application Ser. No. 07/899,777 entitled xe2x80x9cRadio Frequency Identification Device and Method of Manufacture, Including an Electrical Operating System and Methodxe2x80x9d, filed Jun. 17, 1992, there are disclosed and claimed new and improved radio frequency identification (RFID) tags which may be affixed to various articles (or persons) so that these articles, when shipped, may be easily tracked from the point of shipment origin, then along a given route, and then readily located upon reaching a point of destination. These RFID tags are constructed within a small area on the order of one inch (1xe2x80x3) square or less and of a thickness on the order of 30 mils. These tags include, among other things, an integrated circuit (IC) chip having transmitter, receiver, memory and control logic sections therein which together form an IC transceiver capable of being powered by either a small battery or by a capacitor charged from a remote RF source. The IC chip including the RF transmitter and receiver sections operates to provide for the RF signal transmission and reception to and from remote sources, and a thin film antenna is also constructed within the above small area. The above novel RFID system operates to receive, store, and transmit article-identifying data to and from the memory within the IC chip. This data is stored within the IC chip memory stage and may be subsequently called up and transmitted to an interrogating party at the above point of origin, points along a given shipment route, and then upon reaching a point of destination. This co-pending application is assigned to the present assignee and is incorporated herein by reference.
The RFID device disclosed and claimed in my above identified co-pending application represents not only a fundamental breakthrough in the field of RF identification generally, but also represents significant specific advances over the prior art described in some detail in this co-pending application. This prior art includes relatively large hybrid electronic packages which have been affixed to railroad cars to reflect RF signals in order to monitor the location and movement of such cars. This prior art also includes smaller passive RFID packages which have been developed in the field of transportation and are operative for tracking automobiles. These reflective passive RFID packages operate by modulating the impedance of an antenna, but are generally inefficient in operation, require large amounts of power to operate, and have a limited data handling capability.
The above mentioned prior art still further includes bar code identification devices and optical character recognition (OCR) devices which are well known in the art. However, these bar code identification and OCR devices require labor intensive operation and tend to be not only very expensive, but highly unreliable. However, all of the above mentioned prior art devices described in my above co-pending application are only remotely related to the present invention as will become more readily apparent in the following description thereof.
The general purpose and principal object of the present invention is to provide still further new and useful improvements in the field of radio frequency identification (RFID) generally and improvements which are particularly adapted and well-suited for operation with electrically powered postage stamps and mailing labels. These new and useful improvements are made both with respect to the novel devices and processes described and claimed in my above identified co-pending application, and also with respect to all of the prior art described therein.
To accomplish the above purpose and object, there have been developed both an electrically powered postage stamp and an electrically powered mailing label, each of which include, in combination, an integrated circuit chip having an RF transceiver constructed therein; a thin flat battery cell connected to the IC chip for providing power thereto; and a thin film RF antenna connected to the IC chip for transmitting data to and from the IC chip. All of the above components are connected in a very thin array and mounted between opposing major facing surfaces of either a postage stamp or a larger mailing or shipping label in a substantially two dimensional planar configuration. These components are operative to store data in the IC chip memory, which data includes such things as the destination address, return address, and descriptions of the contents of the article being mailed or shipped. These components are further operative in a novel system combination to transmit the stored data to an interrogating party upon receipt of RF interrogation signals transmitted to the stamp or label, or to receive data from same.
Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved RFID stamp or label of the type described which is uniquely constructed in an essentially two dimensional configuration which is easily scalable to the two dimensional major surface area of either a postage stamp or a mailing label.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved electronically powered stamp or label of the type described and process for making the stamp or label which employs certain novel, thin film fabrication techniques capable of producing device thicknesses on the order of a fraction of a millimeter. These thicknesses are typically within the range of one to five mils, thereby being extremely well suited and adapted for use with corresponding postage stamp or mailing label thickness dimensions.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved electronically powered postage stamp or mailing label of the type described including RFID integrated circuitry which is operatively powered by a flat and very thin battery and imparts a high and sophisticated degree of RF communication capability to these stamps or labels without significantly increasing the overall size and volume of the stamps or labels.
The above brief summary of the invention, together with its various objects, novel features and attendant advantages, will become more readily apparent in the following description of the accompanying drawings.